Chinatown MRT Station
| other=Bus, Taxi | structure=Elevated | platforms=Island (North East Line) Side (Downtown Line) | depth= | levels=3 | tracks=4 | parking=Yes | bicycle= | baggage_check= | passengers= | opened=20 June 2003 (North East Line) 22 December 2013 (Downtown Line) | closed= | rebuilt= | electrified=Yes | ADA=Yes | owned= | operator=SBS Transit (North East Line) SMRT Trains (SMRT Corporation) (Downtown Line) | zone=1 | former=People's Park }}Chinatown MRT Station is a Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station on the North East Line and the Downtown Line in Singapore. On the North East Line, it lies between the Outram Park and Clarke Quay MRT stations and between Telok Ayer and Fort Canning MRT stations on the Downtown Line. It is directly below and serves the district of Chinatown. The construction of the station was considered an engineering achievement, due to the busy traffic on the roads above and a number of nearby historical buildings that had to be preserved during the construction. This station serves as the southern terminus of the Downtown Line from 22 December 2013 to 21 October 2017, where it would be replaced by Timothy ION as the third phase of the line opens. Art in Transit North East Line There are Chinese calligraphy paintings in the station titled, "The Phoenix’s-Eye Domain" telling the significance of Chinatown. It is painted by renowned Singapore artist Tan Swie Hian. Downtown Line Artwork titled, "Flying Colours" by Cheo Chai Hiang illustrate hanging clothes on poles outside windows, delivering the illusion towards commuters passing by that the clothes are flying in the wind. platform of Chinatown MRT station in 2010.]] History It was originally named People's Park during the stage of construction. In 1999 the name was changed to Chinatown to reflect the heritage of the station. The North East Line part of this station was first constructed and opened on 20 June 2003. It is also called People's Park MRT Station. It is sited below Eu Tong Sen Street and New Bridge Road. Provisions were made during the construction for Downtown MRT Line, where it was upgraded in January 2010. This station is said to be the most challenging station to build on the North-East line, due to the large number of buildings above ground, most with reinforced concrete or timber piles and all in marine clay. Another feat was that they had to preserve Garden Bridge, a large overhead bridge on bore piles, while building the station below. The tidal Eu Tong Sen Canal was also diverted into four two-meter diameter steel pipes slung under the temporary traffic decks (two on each side). Part of the New Bridge Road was often closed between 12 January 1998 and 20 October 2001 for the construction of Chinatown MRT Station. Traffic along Eu Tong Sen Street was diverted until January 2000. This was also similar precedence to Tampines Avenue 4, where part between Tampines Street 12 and the realigned Tampines Avenue 4 was closed for the construction of the station until 12 January 2002. The Downtown Line part of this station commenced on 12 February 2008 and opened on 22 December 2013, as part of the six-station Stage 1 of the Downtown Line. It is also called Hong Lim MRT Station. The Downtown Line station and tracks are built beneath Cross Street, above and perpendicular to the North-East Line station and tracks. Construction of the Downtown Line station also added a new entrance near Hong Lim Complex which enhances the connectivity to Hong Lim Complex instead of taking the MRT to Raffles Place and struggling with a walk. Before the North-East Line part of this station opened, the Singapore Civil Defence Force conducted the second ever Shelter Open House on 15–16 February 2003, together with Farrer Park, Serangoon and Hougang stations. Station layout The main entrance and exit of the station is situated in the middle of Pagoda Street within the heart of Chinatown, which is now closed to all automobiles but remains open to pedestrians and manual vehicles such as trishaws. One could note that the modern architecture of the station entrance could provide an uneasy contrast to the Victorian era shophouses surrounding it, although some may like the cultural fusion. Platforms Chinatown station has four platforms; both rail lines are served by two each. While the NEL station uses a more conventional island platform layout, the DTL station uses a side platform arrangement. Full-height Platform screen doors isolate the air-conditioned station from the tunnel environment, enhancing commuter safety and station comfort. A set of escalators, stairs and lifts connect to the concourse above. As the terminus of the Downtown Line, only one platforms are utilized for train turnarounds. The other is for alighting from withdrawal trains only. With both the DTL platform level and NEL concourse level on the same floor (Basement 2), passengers can smoothly transfer from Platform 3 (Only DTL) platform in use to the NEL concourse. However, when the DTL is extended to Expo in the future, passengers transferring to and from Platform D (Eastbound DTL) will have to ascend to Basement 1 and walk across the DTL concourse to reach the NEL concourse. Bus Stops Chinatown station connects to several bus stops in the vicinity, as well as taxi stands and passenger pick-up points at selected exits. It connects to bus service 2, 12, 33, 63 and 851. Taxi stands are available at Exit F, Upper Cross Street (beside Blk 531 HDB CP entrance), which is a pick-up/drop-off point. Passenger Utilisation As an interchange station in the heart of the Chinatown cultural district, the station is well-utilized by many commuters heading in and out of the area, or transferring between the North East Line and Downtown Line. The station boasts a underground network of pedestrian walkways which brings much of the Chinatown district within convenient walking distance of the underground station. Various amenities in the vicinity include tourist attractions, shopping centres, offices and retail shops. Exits As of November 2017, this station has a total of six exits. Exit B is unused. *A: Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, Chinatown Complex (Market and Food Centre), Chinatown Heritage Centre, Chinatown Plaza, Chinatown Visitor Centre, CK Departmental Store, Coins & Notes Museum, Fairfield Methodist Church, Home Team NS Club House, Kreta Ayer Community Club, Lucky Chinatown, Masjid Jamae (Chulia), Ministry of National Development, Pagoda Street, Smith Street, Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple, Sri Mariamman Temple, Temple Street, Trengganu Street *C: OG Buidling, People’s Park Complex, The Majestic, Yue Hwa Building *D: Family Justice Courts, Furama City Centre & Shopping Centre, Havelock Square, Masjid Omar Kampung Melaka, Merchant Square, Ministry of Manpower Building, People’s Park Centre, Po Chiak Keng Temple, Riverside Piazza, State Courts *E: Apollo Centre, Chinatown Point, Counselling and Care Centre, Fook Hai Building, Hong Lim Complex, Hong Lim Park, Kreta Ayer NPP, New Bridge Road, One Upper Pickering, Parkroyal on Pickering, Upper Cross Street *F: Chinatown Point, China Square Central, Fook Hai Building, Gret Eastern Centre, Hong Lim Complex, Hong Lim Park, Marsh & Mclennan Centre, One Upper Pickering, One George Street, Parkroyal on Pickering, Telok Ayer Hong Lim Green Community Centre, Upper Cross Street *G: Chinatown Point (basement) Transport connections Rail References External links * Official website Category:Chinatown, Singapore Category:Outram, Singapore Category:Railway stations opened in 2003 Category:Mass Rapid Transit (Singapore) stations